Does Having Faith Really Work?
This question cross my mind a lot. Sometimes I chide myself for allowing this thought but it is always at the back of my mind.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought about this or asked this question before:
Does Having Faith Really Work?
Every time I hear a message on faith or I read a bible chapter on faith, I always wonder why faith did so much for the people in the bible but we are hardly seeing it work in today’s world.
Sometimes I also think there was something the people in the bible did differently that we aren’t doing now.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the faith that saves i.e the faith we have in Christ when we believe in his death and resurrection to attain eternal life.
And I don’t think that is what you’re thinking about either.
Believing that Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected for our sins seems quite easy to do compared to staying faith-full after we have become Christians.
I’m talking about those times you are expecting a favor, a miracle, or a change in a situation and you constantly pray to God but you’re not getting an answer.
I’m talking about that scenario where you plan to heal the sick and raise the dead during evangelism and you’re scared that what if it doesn’t work? What if I call on God and nothing happens?
You know that scenario where armed robbers comes to rob you of your possession and you don’t know if anything will change if you call on God to help you or another scenario where you’re about to get raped and you succumb to your fate because you don’t think you will be saved if you call on God.
Exactly! Those types of scenarios!!
Whenever I hear great stories of ministers of God or read bible stories of the church in Acts, I wonder why it’s only some people that get to witness these wonderful acts of God.
I wonder why someone gets raped even after calling God to help them. I wonder why someone gets killed even though they just prayed for God’s protection.
This has caused so much question in my heart. But I found my answer recently and I wanted to share and help the heart of someone who has also thought about these things.
This was how I found my answer:
I was watching a faith-based movie titled The Last Man Standing 2 by Mount Zion Faith Ministries on YouTube. This is the link to Part 1.
So, in one of the scenes, the pastor was led by God to go on an evangelical mission to the most notorious environment in their community but the church members declined that they wouldn’t go because the last pastor that went ended up dead.
So, the pastor decided not to go, but then, this newly converted Christian (who was previously a prostitute) went to the pastor and told him she wanted to go.
This time, it was the pastor begging her not to go. Long story short, she asked the pastor a question that answered the question that has always been in my heart.
She said something like, “The God people talked about in the scriptures that did all those powerful things we read about Elijah, Daniel, the three Hebrew boys, etc., is he the same God we serve today?”
And the pastor answered affirmatively, “Of course, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Then she went ahead to ask “So, why is it that those things God did through those men no longer happen in our days?”
And then I got my answer:
The pastor said “The problem is not God. The problem is the faith of the people. The faith of the people has become perversed.”
Note: I didn’t write this word for word. I wrote it as I remember.
So, at this point, I paused the movie. I had to meditate on what he just said.
Wait! So, God can still do those things he did in the old and new testament in our day?
So, Elijah causing rain not to fall and then causing it to fall, Jesus healing the sick just by his words, his touch, Jesus raising the dead, Daniel entering the den of lions and coming out unscathed… So, those things can happen in my day?
I know you are wondering, well it happens to the great ministers of God we have now, it happens to pastors and prophets. Well, great!
But, the three Hebrew boys were just young boys who heard about God and believed. Daniel was a prophet but not at the beginning of his life, he started just like me, just like you; A young and clueless man who chose to believe in God regardless of the fate that could befall him.
I have heard of miracles in anointing services and prayer meetings. I have heard of miracles done by great ministers of God but I’m talking about members of the congregation, believers who have the Holy Spirit. I’m talking about new converts.
How many supernatural acts have they performed?
I heard a story about a great man of God.
Bishop Benson Idahosa
In his time, he was known as the Father of Faith in Nigeria. He did a lot of supernatural things in his time that are no longer rampant in our days.
The very first miracle he performed was when he raised the dead. Interestingly, he performed this miracle when he was just a newly born-again Christian. He was a young man who just heard the message of faith.
The pastor had just finished preaching about the diverse miracles Jesus did while he was on the earth and young Bishop Idahosa was intrigued.
Innocently, he asked, “Pastor, do you mean if I go out and I see a dead man, I can raise him?”
The pastor was perplexed. He knew the teachings of Jesus theoretically but he had never thought of actually doing what Jesus did.
But he answered him anyway “Yes, of course. You can also raise the dead as Jesus did.”
And we were told that young Bishop Idahosa left the church that day and went into the streets, knocking on doors and hailing people to come out of their homes. He told them to bring out their sick ones. He told them to bring out their dead ones if there was any.
Everyone wondered what had gone into him. But he didn’t care. If Jesus could do it, he believed he could do it too. He couldn’t wait to see it work.
And so he got to a doorstep, he heard people wailing; a family had just lost their dear father and husband. So he told them to bring the man out and they did.
And that day, Bishop Idahosa performed his first miracle of raising the dead.
He went back to the church and told the pastor what he had done and even the pastor could not believe it.
The pastor was very good at preaching the message but he didn’t realize there was a part of the message that encouraged believers to go forth and apply these teachings.
Throughout his life, Bishop Benson Idahosa was known for the great works he wrought for Jesus and how witches, wizards, and demons feared him.
He was known for calling them out openly and threatening them.
It was a wonderful time to be a Christian.
All this started because one man heard the word of God, he believed, and then He went out to confirm it.
Bishop Benson Idahosa was a new convert at the time but what distinguished him was that he had unperverted faith. His faith had not been corrupted and he was able to do something everyone would consider impossible.
- What Causes Perverted Faith?
So, I thought about it. How can a new believer who has read the scripture find it hard to trust God strongly and stand on God’s word through the stories of other believers and saints in the scriptures?
And one thing that comes to mind is:
The Influence of Christians with perverted faith
You will be surprised that we keep having Christians who have so little and weak faith in our day today and the truth is, this is caused by other ‘older’ christians and it is a cycle that keeps going on and on.
The older christians heard that faith does not work when they were new converts, they believed and ignored the word of God. Then when they became older (with their weak faith), they also told the same stories to the new converts.
I have real-life stories to back these up.
One happened to someone close to me, she saw a boy on the street about to run mad one day, and suddenly she felt this unexplainable urge and desire to hit the boy and decree that he receives his sanity back.
As she was about to rush to him while the boy was about tearing his clothes, her friend held her hands.
Now, this her friend is a man of God and she was just a new Christian. He told her not to go and embarrass herself.
And she narrated that immediately he convinced her that if she goes there and the boy does not regain his sanity, people will mock her; she said, immediately the urge and desire left her.
Another one, this sister visited a church member whose husband had a stroke and she prayed with him.
She was overwhelmed with so much passion that she held his hand and mouth and all those parts that were not working and prayed for him, decreeing healing upon him.
After praying for him, the man relaxed and she told her church member she would come back again to pray with the man.
After this wonderful experience, she called her pastor brother and told him about the wonderful experience and prayers she had done; but guess what the man told her…
He said she should be careful about praying for people like that, especially with the fact that she held him. What if the sickness leaves the man and jumps on her?
Well, you know the rest of the story. She got scared of the man’s sickness jumping on her while she prayed for him so she never went back to pray for him. The man eventually died.
I will not tell you who knows?!!!
Another one happened to me, I was teaching some people on the power of faith in healing and I told the story of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and how he healed people of diverse diseases and sicknesses.
I was trying to reiterate the power of God in administering healing. Then, when it was time for questions and additions, a lot of the more mature christians spoke and warned the other ‘younger’ christians to be careful of only praying when they are sick.
They said “If you are sick, pray and take drugs. If you pray alone, you are not wise.”
In their defense, I understand where they are coming from and some of the experiences they might have had or heard about but I’m still sad that I didn’t hear anyone talking about how prayer works and how one can be healed by the power of God alone.
We will continue to have perverted faith if we don’t hear of stories where God wrought his wonderful work in the lives of Christians.
People who know me personally will know that I respect and honor Pastor Lawrence Oyor. The young minister who made me see faith from another perspective some years ago.
I remembered how I had listened to his messages of how he talked about the power believers have in them which is far greater than any power in this world.
He fostered my faith in God that year because for the first time I was not hearing that demons would attack me in my sleep and I should pray fervently, but I was hearing that because I had given my life to Christ and I believe in Jesus, no power could touch me.
He sang a song that year with the lyrics “It’s a risk o. It’s a serious risk to attempt a son of God.” This song reiterated to me the verse in the scripture that says “The righteous are as bold as a lion.”
That was mind-changing for me. To know that I didn’t need to be an anointed man of God, or a Great minister of God before I could do the great things Jesus did while he was on earth.
I still have a lot to say on this topic but I think I will talk about it on my YouTube channel. When I do, I will update this article with the link.
I have written a lot but I will say this:
Yes! Faith Works!
Jesus said, “…for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matthew 17:20 KJV
Jesus said if you have Faith, nothing shall be impossible unto you and I choose to believe that.
I believe it more than my reputation. I believe it more than what someone who has been a Christian for 30 years with all the knowledge of Jesus and God’s word and yet no practicality, says.
I have a pastor friend who has really stirred my faith and has caused me to grow in faith since the day I met him.
He would take me on evangelistic missions and he would heal the sick right there.
He would try the first time and nothing will happen, but like Elijah, he will continue.
There was a time I was already embarrassed and I wanted to tell him that we should leave but he showed me that doing God’s work is not about us or what people think about us, it’s about trusting God that God will not put His name to shame.
And then, at last, God performed his miracle and healing took place.
Doing God’s work is not about us or what people think about us, it’s about trusting God that God will not put His name to shame.
He also had this story of a girl that had an accident and couldn’t walk. He would go to her house and pray with her. He did this relentlessly for almost 2 weeks or more and after these weeks, the girl started walking again.
I will end with this:
How to Have an Unperverted Faith:
- Get friends or ‘matured’ Christian brethren who believe God’s word in spite of life’s circumstances and despite people’s experiences.
- Read and Study God’s word. Don’t only do that, also meditate on God’s word. Think, brood, turn, and twist it in your mind until you become conscious of His word.
- Be a doer of the word and not just a hearer (or reader). When you hear God’s word and if you know God’s word, ensure you also do God’s word. Pray for someone. Talk to someone about Jesus. Take that bold step and tell that person that message God has been telling you to pass to them.
- Watch anointed and faith-stirring movies. I will recommend Christian movies by The Kendrick Brothers, Mount Zion Faith Ministry Movies — there’s this one — Chris Heartbeat. They will make you conscious of how the power of God can protect you. I usually get my faith revived and stirred by Mount Zion Movies. So, you can check them out.
- Listen to Ministers of God and messages that will stir up your faith and help you become a bold Christian. You can follow this Mixlr weekly and Sunday program by Pastor friend. You can also subscribe to Pastor Lawrence’s Telegram Channel and listen to his old and recent messages.
- Pray a lot. One thing I have noticed is that when we pray, we become bold. So, pray. Pray without ceasing.
You can check out these articles on prayer if you need help or a guide:
What Happened When I Prayed in Tongues for 6 Hours
6 Reasons you’re not Consistent in Prayer + The Right reason to Pray
How to Pray in Tongues for Long Hours
The Secret to a Consistent Prayer Life
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I look forward to hearing about men and women who are not afraid or ashamed to trust God. I look forward to hearing about the works of believers with unperverted faith.
I look forward to seeing Christians being bold about their God. I look forward to seeing Righteous believers who are as bold as a Lion.
“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
Proverbs 28:1 KJV
